Name: EXPLORE 2025 Summer School and Conference
Start: 2025-08-10T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-08-15T18:00:00-04:00
Location: York University

EXPLORE 2025 Summer School and Conference

from Sunday, 10 August 2025 (09:00) to Friday, 15 August 2025 (18:00)

Monday, 4 August 2025
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Thursday, 7 August 2025
Friday, 8 August 2025
Saturday, 9 August 2025
Sunday, 10 August 2025

17:30 Welcome Dinner: Canlan Dinner, Arcade, and Skate
Canlan Dinner, Arcade, and Skate
17:30 - 19:30

Monday, 11 August 2025

09:30 Welcome: Welcome presentations
Welcome presentations
09:30 - 10:00

10:00 Keynote: Dark Matter, First Light – Prof. Katie Mack
Dark Matter, First Light – Prof. Katie Mack
10:00 - 11:00

11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:30

11:30 Lecture: Modifying Gravity: the View from Below – Prof. Cliff Burgess
Modifying Gravity: the View from Below – Prof. Cliff Burgess
11:30 - 12:30

12:30 Lunch Break – Orange Snail

12:30 - 14:00
14:00 Student Presentation session
14:00 - 15:30
Contributions

14:00 The Milky Way and M31 Orbital History - Did the Local Group evolve in Isolation? - Odelia Hartl (Texas A&M University)

14:20 From Code to Collapse: Exploring Dark Matter with Fluid Models - Lukas Lehmann (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) Maximilian Heyne (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main)

14:45 Investigating Dissipative Dark Matter Interactions in a Two‑State Model - Alyssa Lazzer (York University) Maheen Hemani (York University)

15:10 Kinetic Heating in Neutron Stars from Dark Matter Subhalo Encounters - Ben Mendez (York University)
16:30 Social Event: Walking Tour Downtown
Walking Tour Downtown
16:30 - 19:00
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
09:00 Lecture: Probing Dark Matter Through Near-Field Cosmology: The Power of Cosmic Surveys – Prof. Ting Li
Probing Dark Matter Through Near-Field Cosmology: The Power of Cosmic Surveys – Prof. Ting Li
09:00 - 10:30
Contributions

09:00 Dark matter in the Milky Way - Ting Li (University of Toronto)

10:00 Mini-project: TBD
10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00

11:00 Mini-project: Characterizing Stellar Streams through Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Model – Prof. Ting Li
Characterizing Stellar Streams through Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Model – Prof. Ting Li
11:00 - 12:30

12:30 Lunch Break

12:30 - 14:00
14:00 Student Presentation session
14:00 - 15:45
Contributions

14:00 Distance Measurement of the Orphan Chenab Stream Using RR Lyrae Stars - Mingzhi Jiang

14:20 Discovering Stellar Streams with Graph Neural Networks - Alexandros Pratsos (University of Toronto)

14:40 Probing Dark Matter in Milky Way Dwarf Galaxies: Modeling and Forecasts - Juan Carlos Aranda Muñoz (University of Toronto)

15:00 Tracing the Motions and Metallicities of Globular Cluster Streams - ALEJANDRA CALDERON LINARES (University of Toronto)

15:20 A numerical approach to Dissipative Self-interacting Dark Matter - Felix Alexander Quintus Groh (Goethe University Frankfurt) Maximilian Arthur Klotzbach (Goethe University Frankfurt)
17:30 Social Event: Escape room adventure
Escape room adventure
17:30 - 20:25
Wednesday, 13 August 2025
09:30 Student Presentation session
09:30 - 10:10
Contributions

09:30 CERES metal-poor accreted star candidates: novel approaches to Galactic archaeology - Dominik Plonka (Goethe University Frankfurt)

09:50 Binary Stars as Sources of Chemical Anomalies in Stellar Clusters - Zayna Khadour (McMaster University)
10:10 Coffee Break

10:10 - 10:30

10:30 Lecture: The First Stars, an end to the dark era – Camilla Juul Hansen
The First Stars, an end to the dark era – Camilla Juul Hansen
10:30 - 11:30

11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 - 12:00

12:00 Lecture: Computing the Universe – Prof. James Taylor
Computing the Universe – Prof. James Taylor
12:00 - 13:00

13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 - 14:00

14:00 Social Event: Toronto Island Beach Day
Toronto Island Beach Day
14:00 - 18:00
Thursday, 14 August 2025

09:00 Lecture: Solid State Detectors for Low-Mass Dark Matter Searches – Prof. Miriam Diamond
Solid State Detectors for Low-Mass Dark Matter Searches – Prof. Miriam Diamond
09:00 - 10:30

10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:00

11:00 Mini-project: Statistical Analysis of Rare-Event Search Data: Signals vs Backgrounds – Prof. Miriam Diamond
Statistical Analysis of Rare-Event Search Data: Signals vs Backgrounds – Prof. Miriam Diamond
11:00 - 12:30

12:30 Lunch Break

12:30 - 14:00
14:00 Student Presentation session
14:00 - 15:25
Contributions

14:00 The PICO Experiment - Zachary Doucet (University of Alberta)

14:20 Constraining Cosmology with Next-Generation Gravitational Wave Detectors - Isaac Rosenberg (University of Toronto)

14:40 Fast Radio Bursts as Cosmic Probes: Illuminating the Invisible Universe - Aylar Sedaei (York University)

15:00 Minihalos and Miniquasars - Aster Schnell (York University) Finn Karstens (Goethe Universität)
15:30 Keynote: Superradiant interactions of cosmic relics – Asimina Arvanitaki
Superradiant interactions of cosmic relics – Asimina Arvanitaki
15:30 - 17:00

17:00 EXPLORE Banquet Dinner: La Luce
La Luce
17:00 - 20:00
Friday, 15 August 2025

09:00 Lecture: Lecture: Enigmas of the Distant Universe from Three Years of JWST: Black Hole Stars, LCDM Breakers, and PopIII Galaxies – Prof. Adam Muzzin
Lecture: Enigmas of the Distant Universe from Three Years of JWST: Black Hole Stars, LCDM Breakers, and PopIII Galaxies – Prof. Adam Muzzin
09:00 - 10:00

10:00 Lecture: Gravitational waves from the stellar graveyard – Prof. Maya Fishbach
Gravitational waves from the stellar graveyard – Prof. Maya Fishbach
10:00 - 11:00

11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:30

11:30 Lecture: A CMB Photon’s 13.8 Billion Year Journey – Prof. Matthew Johnson
A CMB Photon’s 13.8 Billion Year Journey – Prof. Matthew Johnson
11:30 - 12:30

12:30 Closing session and award presentations

12:30 - 13:00

13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 - 14:30

15:00 Social Event: Canadian National Exhibition (Optional)
Canadian National Exhibition (Optional)
15:00 - 18:00

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